Fear; the Other Four-Lettered "F-Word"

A Public Address

Fear! What is it? It is one of the seven universal emotions that all humans experience. Moreover, it is a four-lettered F-word that has perceived power. I said perceived power because it’s all about perception—we give it the authority it has. Does any good thing come from fear? Now, I don’t mean the kind of fear that denotes reverence. According to the book of Proverbs 9:10, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This type of fear shows admiration and adoration for the almighty God. That’s not what I mean here. I mean the negative sort.

I will argue that we give to fear, the other f-word, power over our lives. We provide this soulless concept permission to steal our hope, paralyze our dreams, and destroy us from the inside out. It makes a mockery of us while usurping our ability to progress.

Did you know that fear, this dreaded four-lettered f-word, is the number one reason people don’t reach their full potential? They are afraid of failing, afraid that they aren’t good enough, or worried that they aren’t qualified. We often wait until we are no longer afraid before we act instead of stepping out on faith, which means leaving our comfort zone. Fear, the other f-word, is juxtaposed to your greatest adversary! Fear warrants not credence from anyone.

I should know because, for many years, I was replete with fear. I dropped out of college because I was afraid of success. I was scared of going after what I wanted. I made no solid plans. I settled for being mediocre even though I craved more. I was ashamed of myself. Why did I give the other f-word permission to keep me in its unrelenting grip? Although I wanted more out of life and education, I was afraid to get it. Why did I allow the other f-word to control my life? I pretended that I had a handle on things, but in reality, I didn’t. Fear, the other f-word, was handling me. I was nothing more than a passenger in my own car. How pathetic is that?

There I was, moving from job to job with no real profession I could call my own. I wanted to be good at something significant. I longed to discover my purpose and be about it. Instead, I was nothing more than a pedestrian woman who was okay at some things. I felt inadequate all the time. Every time I thought of something I could do to change my life, fear, the other f-word, reared its repulsive head and choked the dream out of me. Now what?

The book of II Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and self-control. What does self-control mean? It means that we shouldn’t fall apart when things in our lives go awry, or we have no ideas. Not even when a loved one dies. Fear, the other f-word, had me running from my purpose. Why didn’t I read and meditate on this scripture verse daily? I missed out on so much because I didn’t. My soul grieves and feels regret because of this egregious mistake.

While living in Brooklyn, New York, I wrote a cover letter for a job I needed. My writing skills were atrocious. Shame would not allow me to gaze into the mirror. I sobbed. At that moment, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me to return to school and ignited a fire deep within my soul that is now a raging inferno for education and will not be quenched.

I returned to school, graduated, and decided that I wanted more education, and I didn’t allow fear to paralyze me.

Now, I must answer God’s calling on my life, and He wants me to prepare for leadership, which means I must return to school. There is a doctoral program with my name etched on it. Fear, the other f-word, has been trying to cling to me once more. I will not succumb to its stupefying nature. Not this time. I can’t stop now; I’ve come too far.

God didn’t call the qualified; HE qualifies those HE calls. Some of the great prophets of the Bible, such as David, Moses, Paul, Noah, and others, were not qualified to complete God’s mission and purpose. HE qualified them based on their faith. Will God not qualify me or you to live out HIS purpose? I am convinced that HE will! So much so that I spoke to fear, the other four-lettered f-word, last week and commanded it to step aside. I said, “Fear, I don’t have time for you anymore, now commit suicide! And it did! Now, I am walking in God’s purpose for my life.